R O M E OA N D

J U L I E T

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S

AN INTRODUCTION

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families.

It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays.

Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal (or “a perfect example of”) young lovers.

Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity.

Its plot is based on an Italian tale, translated into verse as The TragicalHistory of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1582.

Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but, to expand the plot, developed supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris.

Believed written between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. This text was of poor quality, and later editions corrected it, bringing it more in line with Shakespeare's original.

Shakespeare set the story of Romeo & Juliet in Verona, Italy.

Shakespeare liked using Italian locations in his plays, and he used Verona in another of his early works: The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

The time the play is set is unknown, but is generally thought to be in the late 1400’s; but as with many of Shakespeare’s plays, exact settings are irrelevant to the action.

The main focus of the play is on two warring families. First, the Montagues:

Lord Montague

Lady Montague

Romeo – their only child

Benvolio – Romeo’s cousin

Abram – A servant of Lord Montague

Balthasar – Romeo’s servant

Lord Capulet – a wealthy nobleman

Lady Capulet – his wife

Juliet – their only child

Tybalt – Juliet’s cousin

Nurse – Juliet’s personal servant and caretaker

Prince Escalus – the ruler of Verona

Mercutio – son of Escalus and close friend of Romeo

Friar Lawrence – friend and advisor to Romeo

Count Paris – a rich nobleman who wants to marry Juliet

The play begins with two of the Montague’s servants fighting in the streets with two of the Capulet’s servants.

Prince Escalus breaks up the fight, and warns both families that any further trouble between them will bring serious consequences.

Later, we see Romeo walking with his cousin Benvolio, pining after a girl he loves, but who doesn’t love him in return.

Benvolio tells him that in order to get over this girl, Romeo should sneak into a masquerade ball at the Capulet’s home.

At the ball, Romeo sees Juliet dancing, and instantly is smitten with her. He pulls her aside and declares his love, and she finds herself attracted to him, only to find out later that he is a Montague – an enemy to her family.

Meanwhile, Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, also discovers Romeo’s presence, and is enraged, thinking he has come to spy and cause trouble.

After the ball, Romeo cannot get Juliet out of his mind. He goes back to her house and stands beneath her window, waiting to catch a glimpse of her.

She appears, and they cement their bond of love, promising to meet again in secret the next day, each knowing that if they are caught, it will cause more violent conflict between their families.

This has become one of the most famous scenes of all time.

Much of the conflict of Romeo & Juliet comes from their mistaken belief that their love can heal the long-standing hatreds between their families.

Romeo and Juliet secretly go to Friar Lawrence, who marries them, despite his own deep concerns about the wisdom of their hasty marriage.

The next day, anger, pride, and miscommunications lead to Tybalt dueling with, and killing Romeo’s friend, Mercutio. Then quickly, in a vengeful rage, Romeo kills Tybalt.

Because of this violent murder, Prince Escalusbanishes Romeo from the city forever, and Juliet is informed by her parents that she is to marry Paris the next day.

But Juliet hatches a plot with Friar Lawrence to secretly escape with Romeo, by faking her death with a sleeping potion.

Through fateful circumstance, Romeo isn’t told of this. He only hears that Juliet has poisoned herself, and not wanting to live without her, goes to her tomb and drinks poison himself, whereupon, Juliet wakes up from her sleep, and, seeing Romeo dead, takes up his dagger and plunges it into her heart.

On finding their only children lying dead, the two grieving families realize how damaging their feud has been.

Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play’s dominant and most important theme. The play focuses on romantic love, specifically the intense passion that springs up at first sight between Romeo and Juliet.

In Romeo and Juliet, love is a violent, ecstatic, overpowering force that supersedes all other values, loyalties, and emotions. In the course of the play, the young lovers are driven to defy their entire social world: families, friends, and rulers.

Love is the overriding theme of the play, but a reader should always remember that Shakespeare is uninterested in portraying a prettied-up, dainty version of the emotion. Love in Romeo and Juliet is a brutal, powerful emotion that captures individuals and pits them against their world, and, at times, against themselves.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet“

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 2.2

"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast“

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 2.3

"A plague o' both your houses!"

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 3.1

When he shall die,Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fineThat all the world will be in love with night,

And pay no worship to the garish sun.Romeo and Juliet. Act iii. Sc. 2.

"Tempt not a desperate man"

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3

"A greater power than we can contradictHath thwarted our intents."William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3

"For never was a story of more woeThan this of Juliet and her Romeo."

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 5.3

"For you and I are past our dancing days"

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 1.5

"O! she doth teach the torches to burn bright"

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 1.5

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 1.5

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name.

Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my loveAnd I'll no longer be a Capulet."William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 2.2

"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun"

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 2.2

"Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.“

William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 2.2

Romeo & Juliet has been a popular subject for film - over 100 film and TV adaptions have been made – the first in 1908!

In 1968, an acclaimed version was made by Franco Zefferelli

In 1996 Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes was released, and became a huge hit.

The most recent Romeo & Julietstarring Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld, was in theaters in 2013.

Additionally, Romeo and Juliet has been adapted for books, musicals, television and movies that follow the themes, if not the exact language, which Shakespeare wrote, including:

West Side Story (1961)

High School Musical

Gnomio & Juliet

Twilight

Warm Bodies

The Romeo & Juliet Code

Several classical composers have set Romeo & Juliet to music for symphonies, operas and ballets:

Charles Gounod composed his popular opera Roméo et Juliette in 1867.

Peter Tchaikovsky wrote a “fantasy-overture” for Romeo & Juliet, working on it for ten years before finishing it in 1880.

Sergei Prokofiev composed the wildly successful ballet Romeo & Juliet, in 1935 for the Kirov Ballet Company.

Romeo and Juliet’s influence continues to resonate with new generations – both in its portrayal of young lovers who single-mindedly follow their hearts, and in the grief and tragedy that their actions bring to themselves and their families.

It’s world-wide appeal, dramatic force and unrivalled popularity remain unabated nearly 450 years after William Shakespeare first wrote it – it’s truly the greatest love story of all time.

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